Ingredients
- 400 g (14 oz) pork and fennel sausages (from a good-quality Italian butcher if possible)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 brown onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 500 ml (17 fl oz/2 cups) tomato passata (puréed tomatoes)
- pinch of sugar
- 1 quantity fresh pasta dough
- 1 egg, beaten
- grated parmesan cheese, to serve
Method
1. Remove and discard the sausage casings and refrigerate the meat until ready to use.
2. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook the onion and garlic, stirring, for 5 minutes or until softened. Stir in the passata and 375 ml (13 fl oz/1½ cups) water. Simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Season with sugar, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
3. To prevent the dough from drying out, work in batches, using one-quarter of the dough at a time, leaving the rest covered with a clean tea towel until needed. Roll out the pasta dough, following the step-by-step instructions on pages 18-19, to form sheets of pasta less than 1 mm (1/16 inch) thick and about 14 cm (5 1/2 inches) wide. Work with one sheet at a time, leaving the others covered by a clean tea towel. Cut out 6.5 cm (2 1/2 inch) rounds, trying to minimise wastage as much as possible.
4. Place about 1/4 teaspoon of sausage meat into the centre of each round and brush the edges lightly with egg. Fold into a half moon shape, pressing the edges to seal and taking care to expel any air. Wrap the two edges of the folded side around your fingertip, brushing one edge lightly with beaten egg, and pinch to seal. Place, so that they are not touching, on trays lined with baking paper and lightly floured. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.
5. Cook the pasta in a large saucepan of boiling salted water until al dente. Break open one of the tortellini to check that the meat filling is cooked. If not, continue cooking for a little longer.
6. Reheat the tomato sauce over medium heat. Drain the tortellini and add to the tomato sauce. Stir over low heat until well coated. Serve with the parmesan cheese.
